Australia's recent record overseas, excluding South Africa where the conditions are similar to home, has been astonishingly bad. The bowlers have not looked like taking 20 wickets and the batsmen have not looked like batting for 20 overs.
Now that Australia has two spinners, Lippy the Lyon and Forward Ahmed, who are probably better than the Windies' spinners, it's hard to know whether the Windies' groundsmen will take the sauce out of the pitches.
In familiar conditions with the ball coming on to the bat Australia would be strong favourites, away from home, not so much.
Australia should win, with extra emphasis on should.
Can't wait til 10pm WST for the first ball. How many Sandgropers will be in the team?
Posted by: Soups | Wednesday, June 03, 2015 at 08:55 PM
One less than there should be.
Posted by: Hangover Black | Wednesday, June 03, 2015 at 09:51 PM
Argh, can't get crictime to work - they're still got old links up. Does anyone know of any alternatives?
Posted by: Carrot | Thursday, June 04, 2015 at 12:19 AM
Re: West Indian spinners, when was the last time we faced a leggie, I wonder?
I really liked the look of Bishoo when he first came onto the scene. I thought he was unlucky to be dropped (maybe an internal thing, they're big on that sort of thing in the West Indies camp), and he bowled well without much success for one Test against England recently, before being dropped again for the next one. Let's hope he gets a better run here.
Posted by: Carrot | Thursday, June 04, 2015 at 12:22 AM
Carrot - got a good view on Crichd.in, especially since ABC grandstand didn't work.
OZ bowling a lot of filth at the moment, could be a long day in the field if they don't tighten the line up.
Posted by: 2BarRIff | Thursday, June 04, 2015 at 01:02 AM
Found something. I hate to think what it's doing to my computer, but it seems to be working ok. You know it's a slow pitch when Lippy's taking wickets 45 minutes before lunch on the first day.
Posted by: Carrot | Thursday, June 04, 2015 at 01:14 AM
Agreed. Hope Voges has been practicing his offies.
Posted by: 2BarRIff | Thursday, June 04, 2015 at 01:25 AM
Slow outfield. A lot of these twos and threes would have otherwise gone to the boundary. 102/6 could have otherwise been 130/6. We're still well on top, but the outfield definitely makes it better than it is.
Posted by: Carrot | Thursday, June 04, 2015 at 03:19 AM
Is it just me, or is Brendan Julian quite passable as a commentator? Not a Strine, not an excitable peanut, doesn't use stupid ocker slang..... I don't mind him at all.
Posted by: Carrot | Thursday, June 04, 2015 at 03:45 AM
Move the West Indies into a better please.
Posted by: Tony Tea | Thursday, June 04, 2015 at 08:54 AM
BJ has always been pretty solid.
Posted by: Tony Tea | Thursday, June 04, 2015 at 08:56 AM
My wife and daughters like him becasue he is a spunk apparently. Never rated him, pretty boy that knows people. Having said that, better than the channel 9 team by 1.6km
Posted by: philsgone | Thursday, June 04, 2015 at 12:15 PM
Already Hazelwood vs McGrath comparisons started. Lets make it easier for him. Start the comparisons with Stuart Clark, then once he passes 100 test wickets, pundits can work on the McGrath comparison.
Posted by: philsgone | Thursday, June 04, 2015 at 12:25 PM
BJ's half brother is in the Mongrel Mob.
// NTTAWWT
Posted by: but I've said too much already | Thursday, June 04, 2015 at 04:33 PM
The West Indies were pretty shocking, but not in a way that they have been previously. They didn't give it away, they just got becalmed by a pitch that's pretty difficult for everyone, and didn't know what to do. I still have hope that this version of West Indian bad is nowhere near as bad as previous versions.
As for us, we summed up the conditions really well and bowled really intelligently, it was good to see. I think the extra yard of pace that our bowlers have made a difference in a way that the English couldn't in the Caribbean only a few weeks ago, too.
PS - just tried to find a record for the most first-class runs before a Test debut but got bored pretty quickly. I thought that Hussey held it - has Voges just broken it?
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 12:11 AM
Sh!t. Watto Lotto already.
Posted by: 2BarRIff | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 12:34 AM
Starting to think that batting last on this pitch may be a bad thing.
Posted by: 2BarRIff | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 12:47 AM
I'm starting to think that batting last on this pitch might be a VERY bad thing.
This could be a tail-ender's pitch. A quick, agricultural 20 or 30 from someone without much technique but a good eye could make all the difference (not exactly a tail-ender, but Haddin?).
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 01:03 AM
.... As Haddin hits a six and gets out two balls later. First Mozz of the Northern Hemisphere season, I think!
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 01:05 AM
Can't see our tail hanging round. Will be lucky to see 160, let alone 200 methinks.
Posted by: 2BarRIff | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 01:16 AM
I loves me a low-scoring Test match. Great to see Voges doing well, too.
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 03:11 AM
Great to see Voges doing well indeed, the old fart.
Posted by: lou | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 06:10 AM
Glad to reverse that mozz for you Carrot.
Posted by: 2BarRiff | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 09:09 AM
It would appear that although Voges is a fossil, picking players who are in form is paying dividends. i would rather see players have short fruitful careers than long fruitless ones.
Posted by: Tony Tea | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 09:14 AM
I assume Bishoo bowled well coupled with the fact that our batsmen were characteristically unable to bat time against spin.
Posted by: Tony Tea | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 09:17 AM
Batsmen minus Vogon: 5/81
Bowlers: 4/81
If Chanderpaul was playing (and maybe was five years younger) we'd definitely lose this. Not sure any of the current Windies have an innings in them to set us enough to make it interesting.
Posted by: m0nty | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 09:28 AM
I wonder how many people will get the Vogon reference.
Posted by: Tony Tea | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 09:32 AM
Was there some Hawkeye fun last night? I hate missing a good farce.
Posted by: Tony Tea | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 09:34 AM
Those who don't should be subjected to Vogon poetry.
Posted by: m0nty | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 09:35 AM
In triplicate.
Posted by: Tony Tea | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 10:52 AM
I'd rather see a 21 year hold hit a cenyury in his first test, but well done AV, if we win this one its all down to you.
Posted by: philsgone | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 12:18 PM
"I might take a run off the first one this time, mate" - Adam Voges on 99 to Hazelwood in the break between overs.
I think we can allow putting self before team just this once.....
from: http://www.cricket.com.au/news/reflections-adam-voges-debut-test-century-australia-west-indies/2015-06-05
Posted by: Hangover Black | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 03:08 PM
Ball of the century? Balls!
Posted by: Tony Tea | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 06:06 PM
Interesting list of Aussie debut centurions.
Posted by: Tony Tea | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 06:10 PM
Don't remember any real Hawkeye comedy moments, Tones. I was struggling with my dodgy internet feed for much of the day though, so could have missed it. Lippy did get an umpire's call which would have been laughed out of town by the likes of Dicky Bird, but that's par for the course these days, and Voges successfully appealed an elbee from a Bishoo legbreak that would have missed off by miles.
Just watched that link, HB. Jaysus - I've been out of the country too long, I wanted to tear my face off when I heard that journalist's voice and the stoopid hyperbole he was using. Arg. And it's "debut", not "dayboo" ya bogan dickhead (er, that's him, not you, HB).
Another day which flattered our "dominance". We more than doubled their score but it could have been so, so different. Bishoo is no Warne, but I really like him. Maybe I just like him on principle, I don't know - there's something about somone dabbling in the dark arts of legspin that's always a bit different and interesting. Hope his finger mends, and that he continues to do well.
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 07:03 PM
J.W. Burke was an absolute rabbit.
Posted by: Big Ramifications | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 07:47 PM
Rise up!
Posted by: Archbishoo Tutu | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 08:12 PM
I still think Bannerman's effort was absolutely freakish, and becomes more so as the years roll by and he still hasn't been bettered.
Posted by: Professor Rosseforp | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 08:29 PM
Bishoo was all over us like a rash early on. The pressure plus some great deliveries led to the 3 middle order wickets.
Posted by: 2BarRIff | Friday, June 05, 2015 at 11:49 PM
Charles Bannerman's brother was the first Test cricketer to score a 50 in his first and last career innings.
"Afghanistan banana stand", which kinda rhymes with "Bannerman", was a key term in the movie The Hot Rock starring Robert Redford.
Posted by: Big Ramifications | Saturday, June 06, 2015 at 12:43 AM
Well that's that, then. Thought the West Indies might be a bit more up for it after the big partnership between Samuels and Dowrich, but they really fell to pieces at the end. All out for 218 is pretty awful when it includes a 140-odd run partnership.
Other thougths: our bowling is looking really good at the moment. MUCH better than England's. Disciplined, quick (for the most part), organised and relentless. Starc looks really good as well - as good as I've seen him with the red ball. It's hard to see where Harris will fit back in, actually.
Posted by: Carrot | Saturday, June 06, 2015 at 07:30 AM
Will Harris 2015 be Gillespie 2005?
Posted by: Nick | Saturday, June 06, 2015 at 12:50 PM
This is not news: Lower order continues to save face for Aussie batsmen.
Posted by: Tony Tea | Saturday, June 06, 2015 at 04:33 PM
Hazelwood looks the goods even if he's not bowling much faster than IPCoS. He can get whatever is in the pitch to work for him or so it seems.
Starc looks ok, but I thought he bowled a bit meh for a lot of the time. Johnson was whistling it past the bat far more than him and Johnson isn't even bowling that fast.
But it's good to have someone who fires up against the tail, we didn't need the Windies doing a job on us like our tail did on them.
Voges looked so much better against spin than anyone else it wasn't funny.
Posted by: lou | Saturday, June 06, 2015 at 05:02 PM
"Charles Bannerman's brother was the first Test cricketer to score a 50 in his first and last career innings" -- did he only play one innings?
Posted by: Professor Rosseforp | Monday, June 08, 2015 at 02:01 PM
Biggy was making things up.
Posted by: Tony Tea | Monday, June 08, 2015 at 02:47 PM
Is no-one around today? Clarke gone when he was set, but he looked positively scratchy by comparison with Smiff, who looks like he's seeing them like a football.
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 04:37 AM
OK well, there's nothing much going on, here. They're taling about the Olympics. Except for Taylor, the West Indies might as well have gone in with their U-13s attack for all the good they're doing. I suppose there's not much they can do about it - their best spinner and one of their first-choice seamers are both out. Even in our pomp, when you took out Warne and/or one of McGrath/Gillespie/Fleming for instance, we struggled.
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 05:41 AM
Yeah I know that we should have been 22/3 if it wasn't for Roach over-stepping, but who ever thought it would be a good idea to send a team in on this deck? If you're not absolutely convinced that you're a good chance of rolling a side for 200 or less, you've just given the advantage to the other side. Sending teams in happens far too often - and I think Ramdin has certainly done a few times before. If I know that it's not a good idea, how can guys who do it for a living not understand this?
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 06:34 AM
Sorry, that should be 200 or fewer. Although can we see 200 runs as a measure of volume in this case, rather than individual units? I mean, I know they're individual units, but maybe they can be both?
Watson's gotta score, here. They're probably dead keen for him to go to England given what he offered with the ball last time, but he has to justify it. Not that they probably won't give him a free pass, like they nearly always do.
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 06:57 AM
Poor decision by Kettlebourough. On first view looked to be missing leg comfortably. I reckon Kettlebourough was intimidated into that shocker by Taylor's reaction after being shocked, dismayed, disturbed and disillusioned at having his plumb outside edge off Watto LBW shout turned down.
Posted by: Pat Hannagan | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:10 AM
"I'm shocked a disillusioned by all this, I really am....."
Hurrah, someone to talk to! Thought I'd slipped into an alternate reality there for a moment - no-one on the AGB during the first day or a Test? Yegods.
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:15 AM
That's shocked AND disillusioned. Throw in angry and dismayed as well.
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:16 AM
The entire coaching contingent looked shocked, dismayed and disillusioned when Bravo dropped Smith on 107.
Posted by: Pat Hannagan | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:18 AM
Smiff is a run-machine. According to crooky, he's the only player to score 2000+ runs over the last two years. Who you would choose between Smiff and Dudley Root? Or Kane Williamson? All young players scoring shedloads of runs at the moment.
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:22 AM
Dear Denesh
TAKE THE NEW BALL, YOU FUCKING MUPPET.
Yours faithfully, etc etc.
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:31 AM
Smith by a country mile (or even an Irish mile).
Heard on the TV that Smith joins Bradman and The Great Doug Walters as being an ozzie to have scored 9 Test centuries at the age of 26.
Posted by: Pat Hannagan | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:33 AM
Mark Waugh is pissing me off. He's right, though.
Take the new ball! Why aren't you taking the new ball? TAKE THE NEW BALL!!!
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:39 AM
244/4 with Watto on 14. Or 4/244 with Watto on 14. Ominous.
Posted by: Pat Hannagan | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:40 AM
Run rate 2.94.
Posted by: Pat Hannagan | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:41 AM
Yeah, Waugh is carrying on a bit. Maybe they are saving the new ball for 4 overs to go with Taylor having been rested and ready for a final onslaught to get 4 off 2?
Posted by: Pat Hannagan | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:42 AM
"Oh but maaaaaate, it's a tough game!"
Stick to the Big Bash, Junior.
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:45 AM
Waugh is bordering on being a blatherskite.
Posted by: Pat Hannagan | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:45 AM
At least without the Nein commentary there are no cacafuegos.
Posted by: Pat Hannagan | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:47 AM
It's not so much what he says, it's the Strine intonation that bothers me.
Jeez, they're bowling pies. This is really poor cricket.
Posted by: Carrot | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 07:48 AM
Smith's day. Nearly out last ball but he's there for the morning, the new ball and a great chance to get a double ton.
Posted by: Pat Hannagan | Friday, June 12, 2015 at 08:03 AM